Day Thirty Nine: Balancing Your Life

What was helpful to you in the reading today?

This was a good summary of the book, of how the five purposes are action plans of the Great Commandment and Great Commission of Jesus:

1. "Love God with all your heart": You were planned for God's pleasure, so your purpose is to love God through worship.

2. "Love your neighbor as yourself": You were shaped for serving, so your purpose is to show love for others through ministry.

3. "Go and make disciples": You were made for a mission, so your purpose is to share God's message through evangelism.

4. "baptize them into...": You were formed for God's family, so your purpose is to identify with the church through fellowship.

5. "teach them to do all things...": You were created to become like Christ, so your purpose is to grow to maturity through discipleship.

A great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission will make you a great Christian. Keeping these five purposes in balance is not easy. We all tend to overemphasize the purposes we feel most passionate about and neglect the others. Churches do the same thing.

The point of this chapter was to help the readers make an action-plan for putting these purposes into practice on a daily basis. There are four suggestions: join a small group for accountability, regularly evaluate your spiritual health, record your progress in a personal journal, pass on what you learn from others.

We learn best in community. Our minds are sharpened and our convictions are deepened through conversation. A small reading group provides many benefits that a book by itself cannot. You can give and receive feedback about what you're learning. You can discuss real-life examples. You can pray for, encourage, and support each other as you begin to live out these purposes. Remember, we are meant to grow together, not separately.

God places a high value on the habit of self-evaluation. For your spiritual health you need to regularly check the five vital signs of worship, fellowship, growth in character, ministry, and mission.

Writing helps clarify what God is doing in your life. "Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through your fingertips." Don't write down just the pleasant things. As David did, record your doubts, fears, and struggles with God. Our greatest lessons come out of pain, and the Bible says God keeps a record of our tears.

Whenever problems occur, remember that God uses them to fulfill all five purposes in your life: Problems force us to focus on God, draw you closer to others in fellowship, build Christlike character, provide you with a ministry, and give you a testimony. You owe it to future generations to preserve the testimony of how God helped you fulfill his purposes on earth.

If you want to keep growing, the best way to learn more is to pass on what you have already learned. Those who pass along insights get more from God. God is calling you to be his messenger. The more you know, the more God expects you to use that knowledge to help others. Knowledge increases responsibility.

The reason we pass on what we learn is for the glory of God and the growth of his kingdom. God wants us to introduce people to Christ, bring them into his fellowship, help them grow to maturity and discover their place of service, and then send them out to reach others, too.

It takes hard work, perseverance, focus, and delight in the rewards to make and sustain change. And it doesn't have to be all guesswork. Our five purposes dovetail with one another, giving helpful guidelines for the direction God wants us to take, the goals he wants us to accomplish with him.

As you pursue these purposes in your home, at work, at school, at church, you will initiate a good change within yourself and those around you. The same trust and obedience you had in God to start the change is the same trust and obedience that will sustain the change. The Spirit that prompts you will not mislead you. Go with confidence. Go in humility. Go in love.